TO SHINE WITH GLORY.
August 6, 2021
Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord.
An Indian proverb says: “Where there is sunshine, there is
also shade.” And a Filipino proverb adds: “There’s no glory without sacrifice.”
I watched one day one short advertising about a washing
powder. It was about its capacity to make clothes shine bright and white. A
mother went with her little daughter to a surplus, "Ukay-ukay" in
Filipino to buy her cloth for a contest. She found a beautiful princess robe.
But it was yellow. Filled with joy, the mother came to her little girl holding
proudly the dress. "Princess, I found what fit perfectly your
contest." But sadly, the daughter answered, "Why is it yellow?"
She wanted a white robe. Without despairing, the mother threw it in the water
with the washing powder and it came out, angelic white at the greater joy of
her princess.
We are celebrating today a feast that shows Jesus in
dazzling white in his glory. The Lord is resplendent in the brightness of
heaven. The Transfiguration of the Lord reveals him as one invested with glory.
It is a Theophany of him as the beloved Son of the Father in whom he finds all
his delight and pleasure. For, in this feast, God the Father reveals his glory
in His Son. And even though we do not see that glory now, we believe that one's
in his Kingdom, all things will be manifest and brightly shine to us.
About the Transfiguration, that is what says the Catechism:
“From the day Peter confessed that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living
God, the Master "began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem
and suffer many things... and be killed, and on the third day be raised."
Peter scorns this prediction, nor do the others understand it any better than
he. In this context, the mysterious episode of Jesus' Transfiguration takes
place on a high mountain, before three witnesses chosen by himself: Peter,
James, and John. Jesus' face and clothes become dazzling with light, and Moses
and Elijah appear, speaking "of his departure, which he was to accomplish
at Jerusalem". A cloud covers him and a voice from heaven says: "This
is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!"” CCC. 554.
The prophetic vision of Daniel and the Gospel of Mark are
all about a revelation. The Lord reveals his face, the Son of Man is manifested
in his glory. This revelation comes to dissipate all misunderstandings and
presents the true messianism. The Apocalyptic vision of Daniel is principally
about the end of time, the final judgment where God will be fully manifested
and the Son of Man take his seat in his glory. At moment, all dominion will be
handed over to him. Daniel speaks of an "everlasting dominion, which shall
not pass away, and a kingdom that shall not be destroyed."
At the Transfiguration, the Lord Jesus gives a glimpse of
that glory to his disciples. Peter, James, and John, on Mount Tabor,
contemplate the Lord Jesus in his glory. The Law and the Prophets, Moses and
Elijah give witness of his everlasting Kingship. Besides, the voice of the
Father sealed that revelation: "This is my beloved Son; listen to
him." An order is intimated to each one of us. That is the greatest
message of the Transfiguration, listen to Jesus.
The Christian life is a life of belongingness to the Lord.
However, no one can truly belong to him if he does not first listen to him.
Through listening, we get to know him, and by knowing him, to love him and
serve him.
The second message of the Transfiguration is that of the
Lord's suffering, death, and Resurrection. The disciples are told that the
place and the moment where Jesus will truly be revealed to them in all his
splendor and glory is in his sufferings and death on the cross. At the cross,
our Lord is crowned with majesty and seated on the throne of glory. What he
endured for our sins manifested God's love. It is in that love that our Lord is
glorified.
As the Lord's disciple, St. Peter, in his pastoral address,
narrates his personal experience of the events that took place at the Tabor.
Because it has been so decisive for him, the Apostle gives clear details of the
events. He and his other two companions
were eyes witnesses of that majestic work. It has affected their lives. For, it
took them from unbelief to firm faith of who Jesus is, the "Son of the
Father." The calling for you and me is what Peter states at the end of his
address; to be attentive, another way of saying, to listen.
May the truth about Jesus always shine in our lives and help
us to know him more and more, so that, we too, one day could shine in God's
glory in heaven. Though we are dirty today, because of our sins, the Lord can
wash them all away and present us to him resplendent of angelic beauty and
whiteness.
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